From your article this nut was taking 156,000–2,604,000 IU of cholecalciferol a day and he`s fine. Like Nixon trying to fine what dose of mary jane will kill you and they could not get there. Cholecalciferol, Not Ergocalciferol, Is Safe Although there are documented cases of pharmacological overdoses from ergocalciferol, .the only documented case of pharmacological—not industrial—toxicity from cholecalciferol we could find in the literature was intoxication from an over-the-counter supplement called Prolongevity. Koutkia P, Chen TC, Holick MF. Vitamin D intoxication associated with an over-the-counter supplement. N Engl J Med. 2001 Jul 5;345(1):66–7. On closer inspection, it seemed more like an industrial accident but it was interesting because it gave us some idea of the safety of cholecalciferol. The capsules consumed contained up to 430 times the amount of cholecalciferol contained on the label (2,000 IU). The man had been taking between 156,000–2,604,000 IU of cholecalciferol a day (equivalent to between 390–6,500 of the 400 unit capsules) for two years. He recovered uneventfully after proper diagnosis, treatment with steroids, and sunscreen. It is true that a few people may have problems with high calcium due to undiagnosed vitamin D hypersensitivity syndromes such as primary hyperparathyroidism, granulomatous disease, or occult cancers, but a blood calcium level, PTH, 25(OH)D, and calcitriol level should help clarify the cause of the hypersensitivity. Although D can be toxic in excess, the same can be said for water. |